Well, Valentine’s Day came & went & we had a ton of fun helping lots of people celebrate the day of all things love & romance & chocolate. Thank you!! It was awesome!  

But then, we had a minute to catch our breath & we noticed something. A lot of people in our lives are going through some really tough stuff. How could we continue talking about celebrating life & spreading joy while our people face divorce, cancer, custody battles, loss of loved ones, heartache? 

So we didn’t do anything much for a few days. I mean, we sat in front of our computers & we did the things we had to do, like answering emails & keeping our children alive.

Doing nothing didn't help though.

And then we said, WHAT. ARE. WE. EVEN. DOING. HERE. ANYWAY?!? Yes, we questioned the meaning of life & of course, we made to-do lists. And then we said, let’s focus on whatever is leftover. Whatever the pain & hurt can't steal forever.

What are we thankful for? What brings us joy? What is there even to celebrate? 

Then, we made a list of 50 things…

Laughter

Puppies

Dancing

Family time

Holding hands

Vintage finds

Girls’ Trips

Photos

Dark Chocolate

Babies

Strawberry Patches

Sunsets

Fireflies (i.e., lightening bugs)

Big Hugs

Dessert

My Daughter’s smile

Singing (to the top of my lungs in the car with the windows down)

Pizza & movie night

Swimming in the Ocean

Music

Yoga

To Kill a Mockingbird

My son’s laughter

Friendship

Coffee

LOVE

Roaring fire

Twinkling lights

God’s Love

Freedom

High Heels

Daffodils

Coffee shops

Hummingbirds

Hiking

Colors

Words

Forgiveness

Prayer

Wishing on a star

Long Drives

Sea Turtles

Helping someone

Sharing

When my hair looks good

Travel 

Smiling

Book Stores

Homemade Cards

Snuggling

Even though we wake up thankful & grateful for each new day (or at least we try to), there’s something about writing down exactly what you’re thankful for. It opens your heart. It changes you. We're able to feel joy & hope & celebrate life when we take time to recognize the many little reasons to be thankful instead of focusing on the pain & heartache & challenges. And oh my gosh, we're able to give more, to spread joy! And we all know what happens when we give more. We receive more. Let's keep this cycle going!

#spreadjoy